Lee Hsien Yang to continue political activities, act as 'vocal critic' of S'pore govt while based in UK: BBC

Lee Hsien Yang has been granted asylum in the UK, and intends to continue being a "vocal critic" of the Singapore government while he is based there.

UK government accepts he has a "well-founded fear of persecution"

According to the BBC, Lee showed them some documents, including a letter which indicated that his claim for asylum was successful.

The letter also stated he has been given refugee status for five years by the UK government as it accepts that he has a "well-founded fear of persecution" and therefore cannot return to Singapore.

Lee also said his wife, Lee Suet Fern, had been granted political asylum as well.

The BBC added that it had independently confirmed Lee Hsien Yang's asylum status.

In response to media queries, a spokesman for the UK Home Office said it is "longstanding policy" to not comment on individual cases.

The BBC highlighted that Lee Hsien Yang has joined an "opposition political party" and become a "vocal critic" of the Singapore government, roles which he has "every intention" of continuing while based in the UK.

Lee Hsien Yang was quoted as saying:

"Everything the Singapore government has said is fully public and must surely have been taken into account when the refugee status was granted," Mr Lee said.

"I sought asylum protection as a last resort. I remain a Singapore citizen and hope that some day it will become safe to return home."

Earlier on Oct. 22, in a Facebook post, Lee Hsien Yang cited "attacks" against him by the Singapore government including disciplinary proceedings against his wife, and referred to a police investigation.

"On the basis of these facts, the UK has determined that I face a well-founded risk of persecution, and cannot safely return to Singapore," said Lee in his post.

S'pore govt: Claims of persecution are "baseless"

In response to a media query from UK publication The Guardian over Lee Hsien Yang's application for political asylum in the UK, Andrea Goh, a senior director at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) said, "Your proposition that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his family are victims of 'baseless' and 'unfounded' persecution is itself without basis."

Goh added, "There are no legal restraints on Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Mrs Lee Suet Fern returning to Singapore. They are and have always been free to return to Singapore".

In reference to specific court proceedings from 2017 to 2020 mentioned by The Guardian, the reply laid out:

"Prior to executing his last will (17 December 2013), the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew executed six wills between 20 August 2011 and 2 November 2012.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew had removed the “demolition clause” regarding his house at 38 Oxley Road from the fifth and sixth drafts of his Will. It was reinserted into the last Will, prepared by Mrs Lee Suet Fern, Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s spouse.

Compared with the sixth draft of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s Will executed on 2 November 2012, the last Will gave Mr Lee Hsien Yang a bigger share of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s estate.

The Court of Three Judges, led by the Chief Justice, found that the couple had cut off the late Lee’s own long-time lawyer in preparing the last Will, and had procured the execution of the last Will with “unseemly haste”, overnight within 16 hours.

They found that Mrs Lee Suet Fern had “acted with complete disregard for the interests” of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and had “blindly followed the directions of her husband, a significant beneficiary under the very Will whose execution she helped to rush through”.

Both the court and an earlier Disciplinary Tribunal appointed by the Chief Justice to look into Mrs Lee Suet Fern’s professional conduct, found the couple had lied under oath. The Disciplinary Tribunal found that the couple had presented “an elaborate edifice of lies,” both on oath and in public statements."

Previously said he would not return for his sister's funeral

Lee had also previously said he would not return to Singapore for the wake and funeral, prompting a response from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) that there was no legal restraint to Lee and his wife returning to Singapore.

The police also said at that time, "They are and always have been free to return to Singapore."

Background

In 2023, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean revealed that SPF was investigating Lee and his wife for potential offences of giving false evidence in judicial proceedings over Lee Kuan Yew's will.

The investigations came after a Disciplinary Tribunal found that the couple had lied under oath, calling Lee Suet Fern a "deceitful witness" and saying her husband had been "equally deceitful".

The tribunal looked into Lee Suet Fern's handling of the last will of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, father of her husband Lee Hsien Yang and Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The police had requested an interview with the couple as part of their investigations.

It was revealed that the Lees confirmed to the police that they would be available for an interview on Jul. 13, 2022. As such, they were not given a written order by the police.

However, on Jul. 13 itself, they sent an email to the police to say that they would not attend the interview, and did not turn up.

Top image via Overseas Singaporean YouTube